


A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

by Gyhl



Series: Whumptober 2020 [17]
Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Panic Attacks, Roxy hates skydiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:20:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27185779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gyhl/pseuds/Gyhl
Summary: Forced to Beg | Hallucinations | Shoot the HostageAlt 02:	Falling
Series: Whumptober 2020 [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950607
Kudos: 9
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

She hated skydiving; she’d hated it before training. But it had become necessary on this mission. With Merlin’s voice in her ear and her relying on her training, she managed to do the jump without hesitation. But it wasn’t the jump that was the worst part. It was the falling.

“ _Do yeh want me to stay on with you?_ ”

She loved Merlin for that; not just for offering but for the casual way he said it. As if it wasn’t because this terrified her. “That would be nice,” she said, almost keeping her voice from shaking.

It was only a moment before her HUD signaled her to pull the ripcord. She pulled it… and nothing happened. And then she froze, just staring at the loose ripcord in her hand. _I’m going to fall… all the way._ It wasn’t the dying part; it was the falling. The unending fall with the world rushing up to her until she met it. 

She was barely aware that she was breathing hard. _They’re checked and then rechecked. How did someone miss something? Sabotage? Just plain bad luck? Oh God. Freefall. Just freefall._

She was faintly aware of something in her ear. Something that was loud, but the white noise in her mind was louder.

“ _Roxy!_ ”

Someone calling her name. Repeatedly. This was a nightmare; that was all. Someone was trying to wake her up. Then… she should just go to sleep. Yes, sleep was the best idea. She was already feeling the urge to.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that this was what happened when neither fight nor flight were options. You just… went to sleep. And possibly never woke up. She felt somewhat giddy at the thought.

“ _Roxy! The emergency cord!_ ”

Merlin.

That was Merlin calling her name. Why would Merlin be calling her name? Why wouldn’t he call her Lancelot? _Because I’ve frozen up. He’s trying to knock me out of it._

That realization broke through the panic.

“The backup!” She pulled the backup cord and felt the sickening jerk as she was immediately slowed out of freefall. “I froze up,” she whispered to herself.

“ _Yer not the first to, Lancelot_ ,” Merlin said. “ _And you managed to get out of it._ ”

“I hate skydiving.”

“ _And you’ll hate me more._ ”

She hesitated a moment. “Why… am I going to hate _you_ more?”

“ _Because after you’ve had a day or so to recover, we’re going to start exposure therapy._ ”

She groaned, and she _wanted_ to protest. But… she knew he was right. The only way for her to really… not freeze up like this, would be to get used to it. Maybe he’d let her take Eggsy with her.


End file.
